PETALING JAYA: Having happily embraced singlehood for years, retired teacher Susan Khoo never expected her circumstances to change so dramatically at the age of 63.
Her late younger sister, acting as a matchmaker, introduced her to Philip Toh Boon Liong, a widowed father of three who attended the same church.
“While I enjoyed my freedom as a single woman, my sister was concerned for me and encouraged me to get to know him,” Khoo recalled in an interview.
Now 71, Khoo jokes that her marriage to Toh provided an instant “three-in-one” package.
In a single stroke, she became a wife, a step-mother and a grandmother.
“It’s just like instant three-in-one coffee,” she said with a laugh.
The couple is part of a burgeoning trend.
According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the number of brides aged 60 and above has nearly doubled since 2017, while grooms in the same age bracket have seen a 34.3% spike.
Toh, now 70 and a grandfather of six, remained single for 11 years following the death of his first wife from cancer.
As a former top executive in the food and beverage industry, he initially felt no urge to remarry.
“But eventually, it dawned on me that returning home to a cold, empty house was not something I enjoyed,” he said, adding that he agreed to meet up with Khoo.
The couple’s relationship blossomed through shared outings, but the real turning point came during a four-month separation while Toh was in the United States for his son’s graduation.
“We grew much closer through constant text messages and video calls. Once we realised how compatible we were, we decided to get serious.
“That was how marriage entered the frame,” he said.
Toh noted that entering a relationship in your 60s leaves “no room for games”.
Both were ready for commitment. When they finally dropped the “bombshell” announcement, their families were overwhelmingly supportive.
The wedding dinner provided a particularly poignant moment when Toh’s adult children announced they would address Khoo as “Mum,” moving her to tears of joy.
Khoo now encourages other seniors to remain open to the possibility of marriage, provided they are healthy and adaptable to change.
Toh added that the secret to late-life matrimony is ensuring one does not bring unnecessary baggage into the new union.
“In our case, we were free to start this journey because we had already fulfilled our primary family obligations,” he said.
